Untitled
by madame-silver
Summary: A Lily and James story, with the usual's, and one character invented by me who isn't invasive or offensive, I hope! . Chapter seven now up!
1. Chapter 1

"UGLY!! It is just ugly!"

"Petunia, there are uglier things"

"Yeah Vernon" Lily chuckled under her breath.

"What did you say?" A shrill Petunia turned to look at her younger sister. "Mother, she is determined to ruin everything for me!"

"No im not! You're determined to ruin everything yourself."

"Did you hear that mum?"

"Yes, I heard that, Lily go choose a pin for your hair, and Petunia lets pick out another gown…"

This kind of argument was popular in the Evan's household. Ever since Lily had received her Hogwarts letter the relationship between with her sister had decayed. Before then it had all been pretty normal between them, they had the odd fight over the norm, who's doll was the best and who's idea it had been to create that game. But now they were bitter and plain nasty.

"Mother I have to meet Vernon in twenty minutes" Petunia fingered lacy dresses as she continued to whine. Her horsy face wearing a gross look of disgust. The angled horsy face was a noticeable family characteristic, Petunia's was perhaps sharper than the rests, and she accentuated it with a look of distaste which she often sported.

"Well go then, Lily and I will pick out the material for her dress." Mrs Evans was a pleasant woman. Proud of both her daughters, she was a pleasantly plump lady who stood at 5'2 with auburn her that she delicately pinned to frame her prominent facial features. Petunia kissed her mothers cheek, ignored Lily, thanked the shop owner and then left. The bell on the door clanging behind her.

"Well that was quite successful" Lily laughed as she joined her mother at the desk, where her mother had begun scanning a book of material samples.  
"One day she will accept you for who you are," Lily's mother put an arm round her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I want to wear pink" Lily pointed to a silky material. "Pretty in pink" her mother smiled and beckoned the shop assistant, who made notes on the material choice and continued to fuss over the duo until they were content and left.

* * *

"Im sorry that im leaving early" Lily embraced her mother for the third time, "I just really think I should be at this ball, being Head Girl and all." Mrs Evans dabbed her eyes as she had to once again say farewell to her daughter at Kings Cross Station. Gripping her trolley, Lily took a confident walk towards the wall dividing platforms 9 and 10. Her mother watched as her daughter faded into the red brick work, escaping her world and entering an enchanting one of her very own.

Lily bustled through the wall onto a practically empty platform. It was the last Friday of the October half term and not very many people had gone home for the short holidays. Lily didn't normally, but her sister had gotten married on the previous Tuesday, and she had to be there. The day had been pleasant enough, predictably boring, with Vernon's vulgar family degrading the reception. His sister Margery made a particular spectacle of herself complaining at the top of her voice about the food served, and a cousin of his, around the same age as Lily tried to stick his sloppy tongue down her throat. That was a moment she wouldn't easily forget.

Three hours had passed and Lily had completed two of the homeworks set for the holidays, a herbology assignment and a charms report. She despised leaving things so late, but since she'd returned home she had been occupied with wedding "duties", her dress fitting, the wedding rehearsel, a depressing hen night and then the final deed. Why Petunia had married a dull fat man was beyond Lily's imagination. She hoped it was for love, and not for the wealth he promised to one day score through his drill business.

Out of the window Lily watched as the scenery buzzed past, endless muddy green fields suggested that they were nearing the end of the journey and Lily began packing away her books and papers into her leather satchel. At this point she'd have normally begun changing into her robes, but it was still the holidays so she could wear her everyday muggle clothing. The weather outside was rotten, rain and gusts were making amock of the tree's and anything else brave enough to stand in its force. Wishing she'd worn something warmer Lily pulled on her black cardigan, she wanted to look semi-nice when she returned back to the castle, so she'd made a bit of an effort wearing a short thirties style tea dress, in a pretty floral print, with a black caridgan, black tights and purple pumps - it certainly wasn't suitable for the weather condition, but heck, she was a witch, she'd use a drying charm when she was back in the castle. Her hair was pulled back as usual, her mother had insisted she had it styled before the wedding and she wore a new fringe, she wasn't a fan of it thinking it accentuated her horsy face so hastely had tried brushing it to the side.

The train slowed down to a hault, jurking as it finally stopped. Taking her bag she left her compartment and clambered onto the station platform. She looked for the other students who'd travelled with her that, and as Head girl felt it her responsibility to gather them together. As she was about to take charge and do this a hand reached for her shoulder, turning to her left she saw a drenched Head boy smiling at her.

"James Potter, what are you doing down here?" She asked, secretly glad that he were the first to great her from the train.

"Dumbledore asked me to make sure you all got to the castle saftely" He grinned down at her, blushing slightly at her appearance. He certainly approved of the new hair, it made her look older, but in a sexy way. Not like a granny. He left her side and went to gather the new students. Slightly agape Lily followed his lead to the carriages pulled by the magical Thestrals. She'd never seen anyone die, therefore she couldn't see the creatures, but in the fifth year she read about them and was intrigued. Climbing into the carriage, she saw it was already occupied by a second year Hufflepuff. "Hello" she smiled friendly to the girl. The girl politely responded but didn't make eye contact; Lily didn't try to push the conversation any further and happily hummed to herself.

The door was thrown opened and a happy James hopped in. Flushed and wet from the weather, Lily certainly thought the look was working for him, she was reminded of a time she'd kissed his cheek after a Quidditch game. She felt a blush creep to her cheeks as plonked down closely beside her, their thighs touching. "Good wedding?" He asked cheerily.  
"Awful" Lily responded and he laughed. A hearty genuine laugh that erupted from the pit of his stomach. How she loved it when he laughed like that.  
"That good eh? Oh well, nice seeing your mother I expect".  
"Yes it was lovely" she responded. James Potter was an odd character in her life. For years he irritated her, constantly harassing her and hexing students in a ploy to get her attention. It all of course backfired and she loathed him for years. But last year he changed, mellowed out, took the time to get to know her. Then of course this year, he was Head boy, and they had become closer, sharing a living space meant they saw each other at their worst, and he still maintained affection for her - and now, she believed she could return his love. A few moments of silence passed, she felt comfortable being silent with him though, they didn't need to constantly talk to appreciate each others company.

"Have you had a good week?" Lily asked as the carriage drew to the end of its journey, stopping in front of the castle doors.  
"Its been alright" James answered clambering out of the carriage and offering a hand to first Lily, and then the second year who'd been trapped with them. "Except you left me with the final preparations for this blasted ball!"  
Lily laughed "James we owled everyday".  
Pouting he began the assent to their dormitory, "It's not the same as having you here actually doing everything though Lils".  
She blushed a shocking scarlet clashing revoltingly with her hair and nervously laughed, "Im sure it will all be perfect"

* * *

Until they'd been parted Lily didn't realise how much she had actually begun relying on James. Back at home the mornings weren't the same without a bicker with him over the bathroom, over what time they should be up by, and what time they should finish patrolling. In some ways she felt like they were married, without the intimacy and sex obviously. They did share the odd intimate moment however. Once she'd been back an hour or two and freshened up Lily left her empty dorm and went to the Gryffindor common room to see her friends. James had walked her to their room, given her a quick hug told her he'd missed her then ran off to see his friends.

Approaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily politely greeted her then announced the password "pumpkin" before entering the tunnel which led to the beloved Gryffindor common room. Decorated in red and gold, Lily embraced the comforting smell of cinnamon which erupted her senses as she entered the gorgeous space. Friendly faces turned towards her, and a squeal sounded from the sofa in front of the large roaring fire. "LILY" a dark haired girl ran towards her, flinging her arms around her neck, "Alice" Lily fondly hugged the girl back. "How are you? I didn't realise you were back, are you excited about the ball tomorrow?" Her friend quickly asked in such a high pitched voice only dogs would understand what she was actually saying. From the opposite side of the room Sirius Black scratched his ear and looked up. Lily followed the girl to the seat by the fire and answered all the questions. Alice Williams had been her best friend since their first year. Alice had curly brown hair; she was tubby and 5'5. Lily fell in love with her the moment they met, Alice had one of those faces you couldn't resist loving, it was rounded and simply adorable with large blue eyes and a button nose, and a wide mouth, Lily would never audibly admit it, but her friend reminded her a little of a frog. At the sofa Lily greeted Frank Longbottom, Alice's boyfriend and Natalie Bates another one of their friends. Sitting on the rug beside the fire she began chatting with her friends, talking about the wedding and gossiping over dresses for the following days Halloween ball.

James watched Lily as she entered the common room, and wished he was able to run up to her and squeeze her as Alice had. He was sitting on the opposite side of the room, huddled around a small table watching his best friends Sirius and Remus play a game of wizard chest. The weather outside was still blustery and vile; therefore the room was crowded with students with nothing else better to do. Anticipation clinched them all, and the prospects of the party tomorrow night had set an atmosphere amongst the entire student body, everyone was excited. None more than the Marauders who'd planned a booze up in the Head's common room after the formal ball had ended. It had been Sirius's idea, and even Remus thought it was a good one, so who was James to oppose. He knew that Lily wouldn't be best pleased, but only Gryffindor's and a select few from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were invited so it would be in control.

"Mate, stop drooling over her and go talk to her" Sirius Black unexpectedly turned from his game and ordered his mate.  
"Yeah James" Remus butted in, "its obvious Lily likes you back, you should really just got inflict yourself on her until she gives in."  
There would normally have been a fourth member of the gang, who'd have included something else incorrigible about now, but unfortunately Peter Pettigrew had returned home for the holidays, his Aunt Gretel had passed away and his mother had insisted he comfort her through the trying time.  
"Alright alright…" James stood and brushed himself down. His right hand went straight to his hair, which he ruffled roughly and he crossed the room, entering dangerous territory.

"…so im standing there and he just leans in towards me and…" noticing James's presence she stopped her story. "Yes James?" Lily sweetly asked, trying to hide her embarrassment at his sudden appearance with annoyance.  
"Just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful Lils." Well she hadn't expected that one.  
"Thanks" she replied emotionlessly and then turned away, continuing her account of her gruesome encounter with Vernon's cousin to an eager Natalie.

A bit put out James turned quickly on his heel and returned to his friends. "Im a fool" he muttered, placing his head in his hands and shaking it.  
"Nah mate, classic "I want you" put down that" Sirius patted his back, "Natalie does it to me all the time, and I told you what happened with her the other night". He leant his head back on his arms, stretched out his legs and winked.  
Remus looked up from the chess set, "although it pains me to say it, Sirius is right" a proud smirk appeared on Black's face, "wait until the dance tomorrow and sweep her off her feet." James grunted in reply, feeling foolish.

As Lily's friends shuddered over her story of Vernon's cousin and his slobbering advances her mind was elsewhere. He'd called her beautiful, Potter told her that she looked beautiful, and he was sincere. Overwhelmed she sat back, leant against the leg of the sofa the others were snuggled on. Content and happy. It was good to be home.

**Wow. You got this far! This is my first fanfic. So please, don't be evil about it, hehe. I'd really appreciate any reviews. Tommorow I will post up the next chapter. Even if nobody else is enjoying it, I certainly am.**


	2. Chapter 2

The ringing sound of her alarm echoed throughout the bedroom. "Garhh" The red head sat up straight, looking desperately for the awful mechanic which was making that dreadful racket. "Accio alarm" she whimpered and the alarm clock flew into her hand, pushing the off button she sighed with relief and tossed the damned apparatus back onto her bedside table. Mornings were the thing Lily dreaded the most. Especially a morning like today, she'd been up half the night gassing with Natalie and Alice in the Gryffindor common room until just after three. She despised having her sleep patterns interrupted.

Twenty more minutes snoozing passed before she was once again awakened by a gentle hammer at the door. "Lily" a voice called, as the handle was turned and the door was softly forced open. Alice's head sneaked around the corner, her trademark grin enlightened her face; "Miss Evans its nearly eleven thirty, I think you've had enough sleep time". Entering the room the girl went straight to the drapes and tugged them opening, the weather outside was still frightful but a greyish light was cast across the room.

"Morning to you too Alice" Lily giggled as she stretched towards the ceiling. "Im really hungry" she expressed lazily through a yawn.

"Well get yourself washed and dressed and we can down to lunch or the kitchens, whichever you prefer" Alice skipped back across the room to the open door, went through it, turned back on her heel "Fifteen minutes", grabbed the door handle and shut Lily safely back into her bedroom.

After a few moments indulging the cosiness of her bed. At home she didn't have the luxuries of a four poster bed with a goose feather eiderdown and somehow beds always feel more cosy in the morning when you have to get up. Flinging the duvet too one side she exposed her body to the autumn chill. "Christ" she muttered as she set her foot on the cold wooden floorboards. Treading across the chamber she opened the entry of her bathroom. The white marble suite glowed prominently, how she loved the extravagance of being Head girl.

* * *

Seventeen minutes later Lily stepped out of her bedroom into the common room. "Late" Alice complained tapping the silver muggle watch she wore on her wrist, Lily had brought it for her last Christmas and her best friend still treasured the possession.

"Sorry" Lily smiled sympathetically, "my sleep pattern was interrupted". Her friend replied with a "whatever" look and headed towards the painting which would lead her out of the room. Lily silently followed, her stomach rumbled loudly exposing how starving she actually was. Stepping through the portrait hole she found herself being led arm-in-arm by Alice to the Great Hall.

Entering the Great Hall Lily immediately noticed James and his Marauder friends. A free space next to Remus beckoned her over, and she sat beside him smiling. Alice had disappeared to sit with Frank, Lily had gotten used to playing second fiddle to her friend's boyfriend. "Hello" Remus greeted her cheerfully as she sat down. "I am starving" Lily replied leaning across the boy to reach for a jacket potato.

"I like a girl who likes her food" Sirius smirked at her "means she can keep up with me", James gave his friend a sharp jab in the ribs, "Behave Sirius".

Lily was paying no attention to Sirius, she rarely did, all she could concentrate on was scoffing the cheese and potato she'd piled high on her golden plate. After gobbling half her dish down in silence, she stopped for a gulp of water and looked to the boys around her. "After this James do you fancy finalising the plans for this evening?" The handsome glasses clad boy nodded, whilst Sirius made a suggestive noise. "Blimey Black" she continued, "how you get any girls is beyond belief. You're vile."

"Bitter words my Lily flower" He beamed in reply.

She finished guzzling her potato and pushed the plate away.

"Ready?" James asked. She nodded in agreement and scrambled over the bench to follow James up to their common room.

* * *

"So you owled the band yesterday?"

James nodded.

"And Dumbledore will charm all the decorations in place at five?"

"Yes Lily".

"Wow" she sighed, leaning into the back of the sofa her and James were perched on either end of. "You've arranged everything…"

"Is it so hard to believe that im capable of arranging things on my own?" James pouted, pretending to be hurt by her unconcealed disbelief.

"No James, im rather impressed to be honest with you. You're a diamond" She leaned towards him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. Blushing James' hand went straight to the back of his hair teasing it between his fingers. Happy with the reaction she'd manifested Lily sat back into her place. They shared a few moments silence before James' spoke again; "Lily, we're having a party later…I mean, Sirius, Remus and I have organised a shin-dig for after the ball". Unintentionally he bit the corner of his lip waiting for her to explode.

"Ok" Lily nodded with a care-free attitude. "Should be fun" and she winked at James mischievously.

* * *

Lily Evans just winked at me, not only did she wink, but she kissed my cheek! Blimey, if im reading the signal's properly she wants me. James smirked, a cocky self-important grin which he knew tended to annoy her, but he couldn't help it. Lily Evans wanted him, and tonight he would fulfil her wishes.

Excusing himself James stood and left the common room to go find Sirius and Remus. Now the party was definitely on they needed to get some Firewhiskey and muggle alcoholic drinks from Hogsmeade. Leaving the common room he pulled an old piece of folded parchment from his back-pocket, tapping it with his wanted he said the password "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good". This phase revealed a secret map of Hogwarts. Scanning the map he spotted the names he was after, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, both in the Gryffindor Common Room. Great. He tapped the map - "Mischief managed" - and stalked to the destination.

"Lily thinks the parties a great idea" He told his eager best friends. "Brilliant" Remus responded, "I knew there was a reason you loved that girl".

"Hogsmeade then?"

"I'll go grab your cape" Sirius jumped to his feet and ran to the seventh year boy dorms, opening his trunk he grabbed the silvery invisibility cloak from its home and hurried back down to rejoin his friends.

"Ready?" Both friends nodded, and all three of them left the Common room, passing through the Fat Lady painting. When they'd reached the statue of the one-eyed witch Sirius threw the cape over all three of them.

"This was much easier when we were second years" Remus muttered as Sirius pressed into his backside.

"Don't complain mate, many ladies would give their wand arm to be where you are at the moment" Sirius joked back. Remus rolled his eyes and all three continued in silence to the basement of Honeydukes Sweet Shop.

* * *

"A party?" Natalie squealed. "That's brilliant Lils".

"Well I can't take the credit, the Marauders organised it. I just agreed to let them have it in my common room."

"Congratulations" Smirked a jovial Natalie. The reason she said it? For the first time in James/Lily history, Lily had agreed to one of his mischievous schemes. Surely that was something to be celebrated.

Lily and Natalie were sitting in the Head girls bedroom. Their dresses were hung on the front of the oak wardrobe and they were getting ready for the Halloween ball. "When did Alice say she was coming?" Lily asked.

"Did someone say my name?" Alice asked entering the room, as if on cue.

"I was asking when you were coming" Lily stated.

"Well im here now" The tubby girl crossed the room and hung her dress up next to her friends. Although it was a Halloween ball the theme wasn't fancy dress, instead it was masquerade, an idea of Lily's which everyone had loved. It also meant they could all wear pretty dresses without a proper reason. Something all girls welcomed. Not one to let things go to waste Lily was going to wear the pink dress she'd had made for her sisters wedding, with a few tweaks of course. Natalie had chosen a purple strapless gown with a white ribbon trim, whilst Alice's dress was a black prom dress, with full length lacy sleeves - she'd always loved the idea of Halloween and this was reflected in her gothic dress. Giggling and primping each other the girls continued to paint their nails in preparation of the party. All had chosen a deep red, 'blood red', as Alice had happily renamed it.

An hour passed and the girls were still in their dressing gowns, although their hair had now been done, and they were just tweaking the finishing touches of their makeup. A thud hammered on the door and Lily yelled "come in". James Potter entered her chamber and she stood and smiled at him. Wow, James had never seen Lily look so gorgeous, her red hair was pulled up in loose curls, with a few carefully pinned to frame her face and she was dressed in a silky short dressing gown that fell to above her knee. Her curves were visible through the thin material and James spotted the outline of a lacy underwear set. Drinking in her appearance James swallowed and tried to compose himself. "I was, err, wondering whether you'd like to. Well, I was wondering if I could escort you down to the ball. Being Heads and all, I thought it would be…" Lily silenced him by placing her finger gently on his lips.

"I'd love you too" she said smoothly. "Half an hour?"

James pursed his lips and gently kissed the tip of her finger, he couldn't help himself. Both blushed and James turned on his heel and left the room.

"Lily stop teasing the poor boy" Alice stated on his departure. She had obviously not noticed James kiss on the tip of her nail.

"Yeah Lily, you're his siren, just let him have you" Natalie agreed.

"Natalie!" Lily protested, but inwardly she was smiling. She loved the way she could turn James into a ridiculous shy boy, and the way he changed her, when she was around him she was no longer a school girl, she blossomed into a young woman. "Tonight" she continued, "I'll show James Potter just how much I like him". She winked playfully at her friends and went to grab her dress, taking it into the bathroom she was going to finish her transformation.

**Thank you for reviewing my first chapter, I hope this one is liked too. **

**I have too do some finishing touches to the third chappie, but it will definatly be up this evening. I want to get into the main body of this story whilst I have all the ideas together.**

**Thank you. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Can you believe her?" Natalie made an exaggerated gesture towards the Head girl bathroom as she asked her friend in a low whisper. Alice merely rolled her eyes and walked over to the wardrobe to grab her own dress. "Hurry up Lils" She yelled at the bathroom door. "Coming" Lily shouted from within the marble room. Opening the door she made a dramatic pose as she revealed her dress to her friends. Both stopped and responded appropriately, making a fuss they complimented her ensemble, laughing Lily made a quick curtsey and announced "enough". She'd changed into the dark pink dress that was hanging on the wardrobe door, and it looked perfect on her. The colour was such a dark shade of pink that it was almost a scarlet red, probably the only shade that wouldn't clash with her ruby hair. It was a halter neck dress, in the fifties 'Marilyn Monroe' style, with a fitted waist and panelled skirt that gave the illusion of the perfect hourglass figure. The dress flattered her shape perfectly, Lily didn't have the best of figures she was a pear shape and carried a little extra weight on her thighs but this was perfectly concealed beneath the flow of the skirt that fell to mid-calf. Yes, she was happy with her appearance as she once again examined herself in the mirror.

A few moments later Alice emerged in her black gown, once again all the girls made an enthusiastic noise. Blushing a deep raspberry colour Alice giggled, "Will Frank love it?" She asked with a little uncertainty.

"A blind nun would love it Alice!" Lily answered. All girls erupted into jovial laughter once again. Alice's dress was black, floor length and very dramatic - it suited her personality as well as she style and made her look utterly gorgeous. A pang of jealousy besieged Lily for a second, and then she snapped out of it. 'For gods sake Lils, she's your best friend, get a grip' her head reminded her.

Natalie was the last one to change into her dress. Her purple gown was exquisite but didn't really suit her. The girls however didn't comment upon this and squealed with thrill at her appearance. The dress was strapless but Natalie had somehow managed to show off all her cleavage, it wasn't really suitable for a school event but she was sure to get attention, and that's what Lily imagined she was going for. Once ready the girls grabbed their masks from the dressing table and went into the common room. James, Frank and Sirius were all lounging on the furniture when they entered, but all three stood when they noticed the girls.

"Gorgeous" Frank exclaimed crossing the room to clinch Alice in a long lingering kiss. He was wearing plain black dress robes; in fact, all three of them wore similar plain dress robes. How dull it was to be a boy Lily thought silently to herself.

"Natalie darling" Sirius winked at the blonde, "You do know how to make a guy smile" he said indicating to her figure hugging revealing gown.

"Roll your tongue in Sirius" Natalie remarked moving closer to the boy, and taking his arm. Sirius had asked her months ago to go to the ball with him, and she'd been in such a state of shock she'd momentarily forgotten what a womanizing scumbag he was and agreed.

Whilst the others were fussing over each other James and Lily remained silent. He looked gorgeous. She looked stunning. They just stood staring at each other; both scouting blushed cheeks and embarrassed smiles.

"Shall we go then?" Sirius asked repositioning his arm so it rested around Natalie's lower back, hovering near her arse.

Clicking out of his trance James coughed, "Yes, sure, better had" moving closer to Lily he offered her his arm, which she silently took and left the common room with him.

* * *

A crowd had formed by the entrance of the Great hall. Everyone was dressed up in their glad rags, some wearing their masks, whilst others held them. James felt a sudden feeling of pride; it was Lily and his own doing which had created this marvellous sight. Squeezing Lily's hand he looked at her and saw the tears glistening her eyes. "We are brilliant" He whispered in her ear. His hot breaths creeping across her neck making her involuntarily shudder. He noticed this reaction and thought himself even more brilliant.

"Mr Potter, Miss Evans" Professor McGonagall had appeared from the crowd. Wearing her usual robes, she'd pinned a large tartan bow to her chest, and wrapped a matching ribbon around the brim of her hat. "Follow me please, its tradition, you must lead the dancing". Overwhelmed by the whole idea Lily followed James into the Great hall; McGonagall led them to the dance floor, where she hastily joined the forming crowd. Standing at the Head table Dumbledore clapped his hands once and silence was cast over the hall, "I'd like to start our Halloween Ball by asking our Head boy and girl to lead the first dance". The orchestra began to play a charming waltz and James grabbed Lily's hand and waist. "Follow me" he smiled fondly. She did just that placing her hand on his waist allowing her to be swirled around the dance floor; midway through the song other couples joined them, Dumbledore and McGonagall, Frank and Alice and varied others. Lily couldn't pay attention to them though; she was lost in the moment, dancing close to James Potter, their hips pressed together and his hand around her waist. She was in heaven.

Their decoration plans had worked brilliantly. Bats flew around the room, whilst candles and lighted pumpkins were suspended by magical strings above them, illuminating the enchanted ceiling which had taken the form of a dark night sky with small twinkling stars. A long table sat at the opposite end of the hall to the teachers table, bowls of punch and nibbles in gold bowls were served to hungry and thirsty students. The orchestra played traditional music until nine. This was conducted by the charms teacher Professor Flitwick.

The song ended and James' stepped away from Lily. He mocked a little bow which made Lily chuckle and then excused himself to go find Remus. Left alone Lily looked around the crowded hall. Although it was a masquerade very few people were wearing their masks, she couldn't comment though, she hadn't worn hers yet, but it had been a nice idea. Crossing the room she went to get a glass of punch, Severus Snape was by the serving bowl. "Hello Severus" Lily politely greeted him.

"Lily" he acknowledged her.

"You look nice" She complimented.

"As do you" He replied. His voice monotone and emotionless.

She served herself a goblet of punch and offered him one. He accepted it, his hand lingering on hers as he took it from her.

"Lily, I…" He began, but stopped before he had even started.

"Shall we dance?" The redhead asked, putting her goblet back on the table. Not audibly answering the boy nodded his ebony head and walked towards the dance floor. Once there he took Lily's hand and waist a feeling of happiness flooded his body as he pulled the girl he loved close to him and began to dance. Lily liked dancing with Snape, although he wasn't as smooth as James on the dance floor, there was still something pleasant about him.

"Oh dear" Remus exclaimed as he spotted Lily and Snape dancing together. "Sirius whatever you do don't let James see that".

"See what?" James overheard his name. Turning his head he looked over to where Snape and his Lily flower were dancing together. Snape's body pressed into hers and his hands touching her perfect skin made James feel nauseous.

"James, don't do anything in haste" Remus placed an arm on his friends to restrain him from making a scene.

James turned to his friend and pushed the arm away. "I wont make a scene, I just can't bare him touching her" and before Remus could stop him, he was approaching the couple.

"May I cut in?" He tapped Snape's shoulder. Looking uncertain the greasy haired boy looked at Lily who had already stepped from his grasp. "We'll dance again later" She smiled a beautiful smile to Snape and allowed James to lead her off into another dance.

Insulted and with his pride brutally wounded Snape left the couple to continue dancing. He walked straight out of the Great hall and to the dungeons where he sat in a dark room, contemplating why he hadn't joined the Dark Lord's army sooner.

The ball was over far too soon. Lily and James had danced five times, Lily and Remus twice, and Lily jived energetically with Sirius once. It had been a truly magical evening, and the night was still young. Remus and James left the ball five minutes or so before the others so they could go serve the alcohol and put some music on in the Heads common room. James couldn't wait for the real party to start. Before he left, Dumbledore had stopped him, "Don't forget to patrol tonight James" and he winked a twinkling blue eye at him before leaving. At least James thought he'd winked, he was pretty sure he wouldn't imagine Dumbledore winking at him.

* * *

"ONE MORE SHOT" A playful Sirius was trying to tempt a tipsy Natalie. One more she gushed, leaning over him to take it from his hand before she downed the Firewhiskey throwing her head back in a dramatic motion as she did so. Christ, her friend was making a spectacle of herself Lily inwardly exclaimed Luckily the common room was only occupied by Lily, Natalie, James, Remus and Sirius. Other people were either still in the Great Hall or had nipped back to their dormitories to change.

"Natalie lets go change" Lily called to her friend. Who winked at Sirius before following Lily into her chamber.

Watching the girls leave Sirius poured two more shots, handing one to James he laughed. "Well im certainly getting a shag tonight. I always knew that Natalie was foxy" He downed his shot and smirked. James followed suit swallowing his drink. All he could think about was getting Lily alone on their night time patrol, the thought of just grabbing her and kissing her had been playing on his mind all night, and if he knew Lily like he thought he did, he knew she wouldn't want it to be a public display, therefore he'd wait until they were patrolling alone.

Once safely in Lily's bedroom Natalie erupted into girlish giggles. "Im going to do it" she announced proudly.

"Shag Black?"

"Obviously" the blonde gushed, "He's gorgeous, and he's been touching me up all evening" she once again began loudly giggling.

"You're terrible" responded Lily before crossing to her wardrobe. She opened the doors and pulled out two dresses. One black one Natalie had planted in there earlier, and a light grey silk one Lily had decided to wear. Magically undoing her dress Lily stripped off in front of her friend, who caught onto the idea and copied. Both girls quickly changed into their new outfits, tossing their formal dresses to the corner of Lily's room with little care.

"If you do shag Black" Lily began breaking the moments silence, "be careful" she pulled her best friend into an affectionate hug. "And" she added, "You look absolutely stunning. He's very lucky." With this Natalie blushed, the dress she'd changed into was once again strapless, it was a plain black cotton and fitted down to the knee, she'd clinched in her waist with a leather belt. Unlike her previous dress, this really suited her, making her look sexy but with class. Lily was truthful when she'd said she looked stunning.

"When James kisses you" Natalie responded. Lily instantly turned beetroot red. "Let him". Once again the girls hugged.

"Back to the party then" Lily said, not acknowledging Natalie's comment. Lily's new dress was a light grey colour, made of silk it was a short loosely fitting outfit, with one thick strap which sat on her left shoulder and was covered with large silk flowers made from a darker grey. It made her look older, she wasn't like the school girl Lily, she was the young woman Lily, a tiger Lily on the prowl.

Entering the common room, a significant number of people had arrived since their departure. Linking arms the girls joined the crowd, waving to friends and stopping to chat to the odd person, many of them congratulating Lily on such a successful ball. Gushing in the attention Lily hardly noticed it when James appeared at her side. Only when he placed an arm around her waist and offered her a drink did she really become aware of his presence. "Thank you" she flirtatiously pouted a little. Where the face had come from she didn't know, but tonight she was going to play up to James Potter and see how he managed it.

Sipping at the drink James had handed her, she was shockingly aware of the hand he still had rested around her waist. Trying to ignore the butterflies that were darting around her stomach she turned into him. Their bodies once again touching.

"Good party" she complimented, before sliding out of his clutches to go and sit with Alice and Frank.

How one girl could have such power over him was still something James' had never really answered. He watched as the love of his life swaggered away, her hips swerving in an intoxicating alluring motion. He doubted she even realised she were doing this. Clicking out of his trance he decided to get another drink, crossing the room he was pulled into a hug dance thing with Natalie. Wrapping her arms around his neck she leaned in close to his face, he could smell the alcohol on her breath. "Kiss her" she stated before pulling James into another hug. He laughed a little and hugged her back; spotting Sirius over her shoulder he beckoned his friend who came to rescue him. The last thing he saw of the couple was them locked together in a passionate kiss heading towards Lily's room. He decided to keep the fact to himself, he was sure Lily wouldn't appreciate them shagging in her bed.

The music blared raucously and people were dancing together, hooking up, playing drinking games and generally having a good time. After pouring himself another shot of Firewhiskey James guzzled it in one gulp. How he loved drinking. After Natalie's little advice he felt more confident with his plans and he approached Lily who sat on the sofa chatting animatingly with Amos Diggery.

"Sorry to interrupt" He apologised. He wasn't sorry though, the way Diggery was leering over his precious Lily was sickening. "But Lily, we have to patrol."

"No we don't." Lily stated, "I organised the Ravenclaw prefects to cover it for us"

"Oh" A disappointed James responded.

"Lets dance instead" Lily grinned and stood from the sofa, "See you in a bit" she bid farewell to Amos and lead a happy James to the area people had adopted as a dance floor. Holding his hands Lily started to wiggle to the music. James let her think he'd allow her to dance like this for a few minutes, but when the vinyl moved to another track he reached for her waist and pulled her hips into his. Responding to his movement Lily wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her chest closely to his. They remained close for the rest of the song, their bodies moving in synch together, teasing each teenager beyond belief. The song ended and Lily tilted her head looking up at James, she was only an inch or two shorter than him, but at such close proximity it was nice to look up to him.

Before he knew what he was doing their lips were touching. He was kissing Lily Evans! Repositioning himself his arms pulled her even closer, roughly pushing his body against hers. Eager for more Lily opened her mouth willing his tongue to join hers in a frisky game. After several minutes they broke apart, Lily slightly gasping for air. "James" She began, but he pushed his finger into her lips silencing her. Baring her teeth she nipped the skin on the back of his finger. Flinching he pulled it away from her. "Ouch Lily!" He cried but she ignored him.

"James" she began again, moving closer to his ear so she could whisper. "Im terribly drunk, will you take me to bed?" He couldn't help but prattle over how cute she could be sometimes. "Ok Lily flower" He responded, causing her to throw her head back and sing out with girlish giggles. If only she knew how much he loved her. Taking her hand he led her to his bedroom, eyes watching them as he closed the door behind.

Once shut out from the outside world, the pair embraced in another kiss. This time Lily took the lead.

She guided James to his bed, which he fell onto and she followed drunkenly clambering over him. Straddling his waist she placed small butterfly kisses along his jaw line down his neck and on his exposed chest. In exstasy and extremely turned on by the situation James felt his body standing to attention. Ashamed he tried to stop Lily, but she wasn't having any of it. Instead she was encouraged to carry on, her grinding hips knowing no limits and her kisses turning into licks and bites. If this didn't stop he'd just have to take her drunk or sober, and James really wasn't that kind of bloke. With a strong hold he pushed her shoulders forcefully, afraid he'd bruised her he quickly apologised, "Lily, we just can't".

Lily began to giggle. "Spoil sport" she exclaimed, pouting and acting hurt. "Oh well" she shrugged, before climbing up the bed, resting her head onto the pillow and falling asleep. Blimey, she really was drunk.

**Alright, Ive planted another theme into this chapter. This story won't be a lemon all about James and Lily. He he, it will be a bit of a lemon, but it wont all be about them. Please read and review. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

When Lily woke the next morning she found herself alone, "Great" she mumbled, assuming he'd regretted kissing her and had fled at the first opportunity. Groaning with self pity she began getting up, how she could have been so stupid, she'd let her guard down for one second and ended up hurt. She had also acted like a slut, trying to make him sleep with her - briefly placing her head in her hands she sighed, how disgraceful she'd been - he probably thought that she was awful and didn't want anything more to do with her. Looking down at her attire she once again frowned, she had slept in her silk dress and it was all now crumpled and ruined. Her appearance reflected the way she felt, and in a slightly deranged manner she began pulling at her hair, trying to tame it regain a small bit of dignity before fleeing.

Five minutes later, barefooted Lily left James' bedroom, awaiting shocking embarrassment she was pleased to find that their common room was empty, and what was more, there was no evidence that they'd even held a party. It was spotlessly clean. Scurrying across the room she went straight to her bedroom. She found that was too empty. Someone had obviously tidied though, the bed linen had been changed and the floor hovered - her pink dress was however still crumpled in the corner, looking a pitiful sight. Taking it all in her stride Lily went straight to her bathroom to brush her teeth and wash. He had left her mortified and pitiful, and as the hot water spurted from the showerhead she began the process of forgetting the past twenty-four hours.

Refreshed and dressed in her most "look what you've missed out on" outfit, a worried, if not slightly desperate Lily left her room/ To her horror a messy haired gorgeous looking James sat waiting for her equipped with a breakfast tray and pot of tea.

"Breakfast?" He asked, indicating to the tray of food waiting to be consumed on the coffee table.

"Ok" Lily answered, feeling heat and colour rise in her cheeks. Feeling ignorant and foolish she sat next to him on the sofa and waited silently as he poured her a cup of tea.

"Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up" Had James sensed her hostility? "I had to get the place sorted out, and then I went to the kitchens to get you, well err, to get you some food"

"Its fine" she replied, her lips smiling, but inside she felt a fool. "And thank you" she said before sipping her tea. They sat for a while in silence, both feeling awkward, both uncertain about what would happen next and both hesitant if the other regretted the night before.

"You look beautiful" James admired her, as they picked at their croissants. Lily didn't verbally answer, but the delicate beam that engaged her face rewarded him enough. She wished she hadn't dressed up so much, wearing a black dress with small white hearts and red tights did make her look like she was ready for a night out, the short hemline and revealing neck didn't help much, but hi-ho, she could look rough and then she'd have felt worst. Finishing her second croissant Lily began to feel uneasy, did James want them to become a couple, she wanted him to kiss her again, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to become his girlfriend. As if reading her mind James reached for her free hand, (the other was still cradling her cup of cha).

"Lily" he begun, "would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

Squeezing his hand she accepted his request and shyly leant over to kiss his cheek.

"Brilliant" was his reply.

"Thank you for being a gentleman" was hers.

* * *

After his private breakfast with Lily had gone so well, James couldn't help but feel smug at Quidditch practice. Swaggering onto the pitch, broom in hand he greeted Sirius who'd gotten there surprisingly early. "Good night?" He asked his friend.

"Amazing" was Sirius' reply. "Natalie was surprising. I've never felt so good, seriously, I think im in love".

James cocked an eyebrow. "Love?" He scoffed, "No offence mate, but love and you don't go".

Smirking Sirius replied; "Maybe not love then. Call it admiration?"

Laughing James went off to get the set of practice balls from the changing room. Back on the pitch he was pleased to see the team were ready to begin. Kicking off from the ground he flew into the air, and their Quidditch practice begun.

* * *

The previous nights frolicking had ruined Lily's schedule, and she was now a night behind on her studies. So after she'd finished breakfast, she excused herself and hurried off to the library to study. It was pretty empty, she wasn't surprised, it was the last day of the holidays and she expected everyone to be out enjoying themselves. Plus the Gryffindor team were practicing on the Quidditch pitch, and together Sirius and James attracted a healthy little fan club, mainly fourth year girls who thought the boys were Gods.

After sitting in silence for just over an hour, Lily suddenly became aware of a pair of eyes watching her. Looking up she saw Severus Snape across the library. Through the excitement of James she'd forgotten about their dance at the ball. She smiled at the boy, and beckoned him over to join her, which he did. Crossing the library Snape sat beside her, his black hair falling slightly over one eye, aware of Lily's eyes on him he quickly brushed it aside and cleared his throat.

"How are you?" Lily asked in a hushed whisper, aware of the acute hearing of Madam Pince, like an underfed vulture she was always circling for her next pray.

"Tired" Severus replied honestly. His dark eyes fixed on her green ones.

"Have fun last night?"

"Oh yes, great fun" His reply was cold and sarcastic.

Placing her hand over his, Lily felt him flinch slightly at her touch. "Severus, why can't we be friends anymore? I miss you."

Pulling his hand away as if he'd been scolded, a deranged look crossed his eye; "because Lily, I love you", he grabbed his books and fled, without looking back. Leaving a shell-shocked Lily, and a tutting Librarian.

* * *

Making their way back to the castle after Quidditch practice, Sirius asked James about last nights festivities.

"I heard you and Lily kissed?"

"You heard correctly" James replied, that smug look once again upon his face.

"Well done mate" Sirius clapped a hand on his friends back.

"And," James continues, "I asked her on a date to Hogsmeade this morning and she said yes!"

"At last, after three years!" Sirius scoffed, but James knew he was just playing. Since their fourth year James declared that he'd loved Lily, and he had never been unfaithful to his word since. When he'd woken up that morning, with her in his arms, he felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. For the first time, he believed his unrequited love could be fulfilled, and that hope for now was enough to keep him going.

Once in the castle the two friends separated, James going to his common room and Sirius to the prefect bathroom on the fifth floor, he'd never been a prefect but Remus had reluctantly given him the password a few weeks ago. "Whelks" Sirius demanded to the portrait, what the hell was a whelk? The painting swung to one side and let him through. He immediatly began stripping off his muddy clothes, not sensing the other presence in the room.

"Sirius!" A girls voice squealed and he, half naked, turned around to see Lily sitting on the edge of the empty bath, her eyes red and sore as if she'd been crying for hours.

"You'll be here forever if you're trying to fill the tub with your tears" Sirius joked. But the look on Lily's face made him regret his words almost instantly. Walking across to her, he sat beside the distraught girl and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Still she sat silently, and the tears began to roll down her cheeks for a third time. Oh lord, a crying female, Sirius' worst nightmare.

"James isn't that bad" Sirius tried again, he was rubbish at these kind of things. He needed Remus; he'd know what to say.

"Im -sniff- sorry -sniff- Sirius" Lily said between wails.

"It's alright princess" The young man replied. As he sat cuddling Lily he became aware that he was just in his boxers, and if James found out he was around Lily like that, he'd probably never be forgiven. Lily moved her head to his shoulder, leaning against his comforting embrace. When did her world turn upside down? First she was kissing James; next Severus loved her, now she was cuddling a boxer-clad Sirius.

Her crying turned into a small snivel and after a few minutes she pulled away from Sirius. Dabbing her eyes with a tissue he had given her five minutes prior she turned to face him, "Sorry for interrupting your bath" getting to her feet, she straightened out her clothes and then headed to the door. "Please don't tell James" were her words before leaving.

Sirius sat on the edge of the bath baffled. Girls were odd creatures.

**Hmm, a lot happened and im not sure I coped with it well. Im just an student ****doing this for fun though, so I wont kick myself.**

**If you read my story, please please review. Its very disheartening to see so many people have viewed it but only 4 reviewed.**

**And to those who have reviewed, thank you, you all made me smile.**

**I wont be updating until Sunday, im going away to party for a few nights.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Morning Sirius" A particular red head smiled towards the handsome Gryffindor, as she sat next to him at the dining table.

"Alright?" The raven haired boy smirked, hiding his sympathy well - he had a callous exterior to maintain.

"Better thank you" She replied. She did indeed feel better, after leaving Sirius, she headed straight to bed, where she fell in, fully clothed, and slept. Sirius merely nodded in reply, he was determined to finish gobbling his pancakes before Potions.

James watched the bizarre morning scene bewildered. Since when did Sirius and Lily have a civil morning conversation? Something had obviously happened that he didn't know about, and he was not about to let the subject diminish.

"Why wouldn't Lily be alright?" James asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Sirius looked up from his plate, opening his mouth he was about to answer when Lily interrupted.

"I fell up a moving staircase yesterday - Sirius saw and made sure I was ok. Which I am, just a little bruise on my leg"

Pleased with the answer James nodded. Why would she lie about something like that? Lily wouldn't lie anyway, she was far too pure, and he was sure she would never lie so convincingly to him.

"Yeah" Sirius added for impact. One word questions and answers seemed to be his speciality at the moment.

* * *

First lesson was Potions with the Slytherins. Sirius had insisted on walking Natalie to the lesson, so James was left alone to trek down to the Dungeons, Lily had left a little earlier with Alice. When he entered the room he noticed she was already there, in her usual seat at the front of the class. Snape was in the lesson too, sitting beside her. This particular seating plan irritated the lovesick Gryffindor.

"Morning" Slughorn bellowed as he entered the murky classroom. James took this as his cue and sat in his seat beside Alice and Remus. He didn't normally sit beside Alice, but Sirius had pinched her place next to Natalie. James liked Alice, she was a nice person, he'd never heard her say a bad word against anyone and she had always been sympathetic towards his love for Lily.

The class quietened down and Slughorn began his opening lecture.

"…and for that reason, we will start with something easy. Open your book to page 57 and prepare the ingredients for your draught."

James sighed opening his textbook to the appropriate page, he longed to be an Auror, and if he didn't then the subject would've have been dropt at OWLs. Remus joined James and began reading the list of ingredients; "I'll get the rat's tails" James muttered. Moving across the room to the store cupboard he spotted a red head already in there. Approaching her he placed a hand on the crook of her lower waist and smiled; "Babbling Beverage eh?" As he spoke his lips brushed her ear lobe, "it's all a little trivial."

A pink blush dawned upon Lily's cheeks, and she smiled a little. "He'll have his reason James", as she spoke she removed his hand from her body and left the room, clutching a jar of rat tails.

* * *

"Rat tails" Lily handed the jar to Severus, who snatched them from him without making eye contact. "You're welcome" she replied apologetically. She felt awful about what happened in the library, she realised he must be ludicrously embarrassed about what had happened.

The raven haired Slytherin worked in silence and Lily followed his example. They'd prepared their ingredients and were now making up the potion; both had perfected the simple draught in their second year so brewed up the magical liquid with ease. The rest of the classroom, as usual, was filled with loud talking, some pairs arguing over their potions, whilst others merely used the time to have a gossip about what they had done during the holidays. Lily decided to make the most of this opportunity to talk to Severus. She moved closer to him so she could whisper, their shoulders touched, he flinched slightly at the situation.

"Severus im so sorry" she began. .

"So what?" he questioned.

"Look Severus" her voice taking a desperate tone, "I'm sorry that you think you love me, and really im flattered, but to me we are just friends."

"Oh stop trying to be nice about it, you think im revolting! I've seen you around Potter, you're turning into one of them."

"Oh come off it Sev, I've always been nice to you ,and James has toned it down."

Fuming Snape stood up, pushing away his stool, a look of distaste on his face, as if there was something particularly smelly under his nose. Their argument was now causing attention, and people were turning around to watch the pair. Snape continued;

"Oh how good of you Evans, what a saintly thing you have done." His voice was bitter and sarcastic.

"Saintly? Severus I thought we were friends" Lily stood too, she felt herself growing hot. She had become aware of the people around and wanted to flee the classroom, the situation couldn't get possibly get any worst.

"Why would I be friends with a Mudblood?!" Severus spat the last word in her face closing the space between them. With that he grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed his lips into hers, crashing upon them with such a pressure that Lily's instant reaction was to knee him in the crotch.

By this time James' ears had pricked up and he was amongst the spectators, horrified by what he saw, he whipped out his wand and pointed it at Snape's torso - "Levicorus", and with this word the Slytherins body flew upwards and he hung magically in the air by his feet. How dare he have the cheek to kiss HIS Lily.

"James DON'T!" Lily practically screamed, appalled by the situation. Slughorn was now also on his feet, standing by the crowd - with a wave of his wand he lowered Severus. "Potter, Snape, Evans, detention tomorrow night!"

Disgusted and embarrassed, a crying Lily fled from the classroom. James went to run after her, but was stopped by Alice, "I'll go" she said softly before following her best friends lead.

* * *

"Shit Prongs" Sirius placed a hand on his friends back.

"How fucking dare he!" was James' reply. He couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed, that slim-ball was now claiming to love his Lily, and that word he called her, if it was his choice he'd have killed the bastard then and there.

"Keep calm James, there are better ways to get revenge on him" Remus, the voice of reasoning spoke. James' wished he could keep calm. "Sorry Mooney, I've got to at least punch him" was his reply.

"Aha, yeah Prongs mate!" Sirius responded a bashful smirk on his face.

"Shut up Padfoot, this isn't a joke" James stormed off towards his common room, he hoped Lily was there.

James was right, Lily had gone to their common room, Alice on her tail and Natalie not far behind. By the time James had gotten up there, all three girls were locked in Lily's chamber. Going straight to her door he knocked sharply and called her name; "Lily, its James"

"GO AWAY" Natalie's voice ringed through the oak door. Pressing his ear against the door he heard muffled talking and then footsteps, jumping back from his position, he was pleased to see Alice open the door.

"Hi" he said shyly. "Hi" she responded, a miserable look on her face, James glimpsed past her to see Lily sat on her bed, legs crossed and sobbing into her hands. Alice stepped to the side to let James through and once he was in the room, both Alice and Natalie left, leaving him alone with the weeping Lily. In silence he approached her bed and sat beside her, placing an arm around her shoulders, his hand squeezing the arm furthest away from him, he silently calmed her. Relaxing into his hold, Lily shifted herself so her head was nudged into his neck, her arms around his waist, and her legs rested across his body. James had dreamt about cuddling Lily like this for years, but never in these circumstances.

After five minutes of silent cuddling, Lily opened her eyes and sat up from her cradled position.

"I thought he was my friend" she whispered weakly, disbelief painted across her face, James felt his heart plummet at her misery.

"He's a slimy git, not worth this" He responded.

"You don't know him James; you never gave him a chance" at this Lily pulled away from his grasp, leaning back on her hands, she kept her legs across his.

"I know that Lils, but you did give him a chance, and see what has happened".

"Oh James" Lily moaned moving closer to him once again, "why didn't I listen to you?"

Assuming this question was rhetorical James didn't answer.

Taking her in his arms, James carefully lay Lily down upon the bed. She allowed herself to be moved, happy to be in his warm embrace at last, after her encounter with Snape, she needed someone to make her feel human again. James joined Lily laying on the bed, and placed his left hand into her right one. She listened as his breathe slowed down, he was relaxing and a sudden confidence sparked through her body like an electric shock. Rolling onto her side, she placed a leg over James, their bodies now painfully close. Faces inches apart her heart began to race, eye to eye, their noses almost touched, and in a swift movement Lily pushed her lips against his joining them in a wet kiss. After a few lingering moments James pulled away. Smiling up at the beautiful face above him, he couldn't believe his luck.  
"You're beautiful" he complimented, pushing a loose strand of her hair behind one ear. He left his hand by her face and cupped her cheek, his thumb softly strocking the fine hair which lay upon it.

"Oh James" a divine smile crept upon her face. "Oh Lily" he smirked, before pushing his lips onto hers once again, beginning a snogging session that would surely cheer her up.

* * *

When the couple reappeared from the bedroom, Sirius and Remus had joined the others in the Common room. The concerned looks on their faces soon faded when they spotted James' arm wrapped around Lily's waist and a happy, almost shy, smile upon her face.

"Alright Lils?" Natalie asked.

"Yes, thanks" Lily replied as she settled in an empty armchair, which James sat himself on the arm of before reaching into Lily's waist for her hand. He gently squeezed it, and she blushed a dark pink.

"Well we're off then" Natalie grinned, winking at Lily as she took Sirius' arm and led him out of the room. He followed like an obedient puppy, his tongue practically leaving a trail behind him.

"They're at it like animals" Remus commented laughing at the randy couple. "I think she could change him" he added.

"Well he's certainly changed her" Alice added, only Lily noticed the bitter tone in her voice, the others just laughed.

**This chapter has annoyed me a bit, but I needed to sew the seeds to make the story a bit juicy. Which the next chapter will be! Im all lemons and fluff at heart. :)**

**Thank you to everyone has reviewed and shown interest.**

**I will update tommorow, the next chapter is already half written.**

**Please review if you've read! Even if you think its naff!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Im sorry to give you a detention Lily", Slughorn's sycophantic voice echoed through the empty dungeon. The red head nodded in reply, and smiled, she was ten minutes early for the punishment and wanted to just get it over and done with. Lily Evans had never received a detention, she didn't know what to expect, she was deepily ashamed of herself, but she did realise it wasn't her own fault. Shuddering slightly, she couldn't believe how cold the dungeons were at night, she silently kicked herself for not wearing a cloak.

James bundled through the door, bringing warmth with him and a huge smile for Lily; "Hi Lils, Professor" he acknowledged Slughorn with a courteous nod. He wasn't going to deny the fact he hated the lard ball, James had deserved a detention, but Lily was assaulted, she wasn't to be penalised!

"Sit down Potter" Slughorn answered him.

"Alright captain" James saluted mockingly before plonking himself on the chair beside Lily. Under the desk he reached for her knee and gave it a quick comforting squeeze. Blushing Lily pushed his paw away, and shuffled her seat away from him. James adored her, but she really was irritating when she was so prim and proper.

Severus stalked into the room silently and took the desk on the opposite side of the room, his eyes avoiding the couple.

"Right, three of you here" Slughorn began, his podgy hand clutching a large key. "Dumbledore has given me the key to an old classroom that hasn't been used for years. Your punishment is clean it out, and when im satisfied that its suitable you can go". James groaned loudly and Slughorn sniggered;

"It's not too bad Potter, follow me."

Finishing his sentence he led the three students out of his class, and down the dungeons corridor, as they moved down the hallway the lights grew dimmer. Slughorn eventually stopped after three minutes of walking at a heavy set oak door, using the key he opened the lock and pushed the door. Why he hadn't done it puzzled Lily, but she wasn't going to announce her query.

"Go in" he ushered the three students, staying outside the door himself, "all have your wands?" The trio nodded;

"I'll come check your progress in a few hours, behave" he turned and left.

"Lumos" Lily muttered lighting the tip of her wand - James and Snape followed her lead, filling the dingy classroom with light. "Ergh, it stinks in here!" She exclaimed, with a flick of her wand she cast a spell which exchanged the stale smokey smell for a fresh flowey scent; "There we go."

"Well done Lils" James slid his arms around her waist, pulling her into an embrace.

"Oh spare me" Snape muttered angrily.

"Yes James" Lily pulled from his arms, "Lets just get this done." Pouting a little he was going to be hurt by her actions, Lily made a mental note to make up for it later.

The trio began cleaning the dark murky room; Snape lit the candles in the chandelier filling the space with a warm glow, whilst James and Lily used their wands to restore the furniture back to its original state. Although they were using their wands, manual work was still needed, and the task was a long tedious one. The ancient dungeon was freezing and Lily begun shuddering; James was working on the opposite side of the room and it was Severus who heard her teeth chattering; "want my cloak?" he offered.  
James heard him and shot around, "Shut up Snape, have mine Lils" he crossed the room and handed her his cloak, "Cheers" she replied quietly. Her cheeks blushed a vivid red, not from James' attention, but from Snape's. She wrapped James' Gryffindor embellished cloak around her shoulders and continued to charm the walls, refreshing the paint and changing the colours.

"What colour should I paint them?" She asked aloud.

"Red" James spoke, and at the same time "Green" Snape replied.

Lily erupted into giggles, neither male found it very funny.

"Yellow" Lily finally decided, and cast a charm onto the walls turning them to a butter-yellow. It was a jolly contrast to the usual bland classroom colours, it was stimulating she decided.

They worked silently for another hour before the room was finally finished. It was now fresh, bright and clean and ready to fulfil its role once again as a classroom.

"Great work" Slughorn praised them. Pleased with what they had done, it had saved him a job. "You may go" he dismissed the trio. James left the dungeon, with Lily close on his tail and as she left the classroom she felt a hand on her arm.

"Meet me down here at midnight" Snape asked quietly almost inaudiably, Lily could barely hear him, but she got the gist of what he was saying. She nodded and followed James, running to catch up with the Gryffindor, she slipped her hand into his and they walked back to their common room. James moaning about both Slughorn and Snape the entire journey.

* * *

"…and Slughorn made you clean out an old classroom", Sirius asked, repeating the story James had just told him.

"Yes" the glasses clad boy replied.

"And nothing else happened?" Natalie questioned from the sofa, she was sat draped over Sirius, whose arm was around her shoulders, with his other hand on her thigh.

"Nothing happened" James reassured, "Snape just kept his mouth shut!" James had skipped the part where Snape offered Lily his cloak.

Meanwhile Lily and Alice sat in the red heads bedroom. Both were snuggled under the duvet and talking to each other. They weren't aware of Natalie next door, she and Sirius hadn't arrived after they'd gone inro the room to have "a private chat" and James hadn't thought to tell Natalie that they were there.

"She's changed Lily! You don't share a room with her, you haven't seen the way she acts" Alice groaned, obviously talking about Natalie.

"Of course she's changed; she is in a relationship with Sirius Black." Lily replied, not understanding why Alice was getting so worked up.

"It's not just that…" The brunette sighed, "…she's stopped working, and all she's interested in is…him!"

"Alice, you were exactly the same when you and Frank got together, you remember what it's like!" Her reply was sharp and unkind, she didn't mean to be cruel, but her comrade was being completely unreasonable.

"Not like she is…she's…"

"…she's what?" Lily raised her voice and threw the duvet off, "she is Sirius' first girlfriend, he must really like her! Are you jealous?"

"Jealous?" Alice shouted, jumping off the bed.

Lily mimicked her action; "Yes, bloody jealous! It's obvious you've fancied Sirius for years and you're resentful that he wants her, he possibily loves her. If you were a real friend you would be happy for her!"

"Is that what you really think of me?" By this time the girl was almost in tears, before Lily could answer she ran out of the chamber, slamming the door behind her. Shocked by the quarrel Lily collapsed onto the bed, she'd never fought with Alice before and the unhappy emotions churning in her stomach made her want to be sick.

A gentle knock sounded through the door; she got off the bed and opened it angrily, half expecting Alice to have returned for round two - Natalie stood before her. "What's happened Lily?" she asked, pushing past Lily and sitting on the edge of the bed. 'Great' the red head muttered to herself.

"What?" Natalie asked.

"I didn't say anything."

"Right…" Her friend paused, "…I just asked Alice what was wrong and she told me to fuck off."

"She's in a mood" Lily replied blandly. "We quarrelled over an assignment we were set in Potions".

"Oh" Natalie said in disbelief. An awkward silence had blanketed them both.

"Sorry Natalie," Lily began, "I have to go do some Head-girl duties"

"That's fine, as long as you're ok" Natalie stood and pulled Lily into a tight hug, "Sirius wants to take me out to Hogsmeade for a drink anyway."

Lily frowned, "As Head Girl im going to pretend I didn't hear that".

* * *

"Where did Lily say she was going to you?"

"Not again James" an irritated Natalie sighed; "she said she had Head Girl duties and then she left."

"Prongs mate, get over it, you don't need to know her every movement" Sirius groaned. Neither he nor Natalie had banked on James tagging along on their date, and as all three sat around a booth in the Three Broomsticks, James' presence was certainly dampening the mood.

"Do you think I should look for her?" James asked.

"Prongs mate; I really couldn't give a shit what you do. You're intruding on a date with me and Nat here, so cheer up and shut up or bugger off. Deal?" His words where harsh, but Sirius wasn't being deadly serious, and James got the message:

"Fine, I'll go. Have fun guys" James grabbed his cloak and scarf before leaving the bustling pub to return to school.

Sirius turned to Natalie and pulled her closer to him. "Alone at last" he whispered, pushing his hand up her thigh and under her skirt.

"Sirius" Natalie moaned at his intimate touch. Sirius just grinned and carried on his dirty deeds. Public pleasures were his speciality.

* * *

Walking through the dark corridor, Lily's heart beat rapidly under her heavy cloak. The weather had begun to make its transition from autumn to winter, and it was more noticeable in the evenings, the cold chill floated around her, encouraging the blood to her skin and gracing her face with a rosy blush. Pulling the garment tighter around her shoulders Lily shiftily walked towards the dungeon. Once there she stood alone, Severus hadn't arrived yet, well it was only 11:47, but he was normally early. Scared of the dark she took out her wand from her pocket and lighted her wand. From the dark emerged the face of Snape.

"Hello" she greeted him uneasily.

"Thank you for coming" was his reply; his voice callous and detached as always.

"We always said nothing would come between us" Lily begun, "and I don't want to loose you Sev."

For a moment, Lily could have sworn tears were brewing in his eyes. Reaching out for him, led by impulse, Lily grabbed the Slytherin by his shoulders and pulled him into a tight embrace. Snape stood frozen, but after a moment or two he gave in to her grasp and clung onto the girl with desperation. They stood in the fixed clinch for what seemed forever, neither saying a word, Snape's thumb gently circled the bottom of her back. The comfort of his touch scared Lily, and she soon broke the bond.

"So we are friends?" She asked.

"I suppose so" Snape grumbled, and fled the corridor leaving Lily alone.

* * *

As soon as he'd disappeared Lily returned to her common room, moving so fast she was almost sprinting. Running up the staircase that led to her common room she suddenly came into contact invisible and crashed, almost falling down the stairs, her saviour was the invisible thing that had almost killed her in the first place.

"Are you alright?" James' voice spoke, the noise apparently coming from nowhere. Utterly distressed and confused Lily practically shouted his name "James?"

All was revealed when James removed his invisibility cloak and showed himself to Lily. Looking down at his grasp, Lily saw the watery material that was James' invisibility cloak. "That explains a lot" she commented and walked back to the common room with him.

They entered and both flopped down onto the sofa, collapsing into its depth.

"Had a good night?" James asked.

"It's been a long one…" Lily replied, nuzzling her head onto James' shoulder, he automatically wrapped an arm around her.

"What you been doing?"

"Had some business to attend to" she replied, the tone of her voice told him that she didn't want any more questions.

"I went to the pub with Sirius and Natalie" James replied.

Sitting up from his hold, Lily turned her body so she could look James in the eye. "Kiss me!" She demanded. Well he didn't need to be told twice, reaching for her waist he pulled her towards him and placed a kiss upon her beautiful pink lips. "Mmm" she moaned into his touch, pushing her body closer to his. Now she was closer his arms were able to snake their way around to her back. They kissed chastely for a few minutes, Lily broke the contact quickly to remove her cloak, and they started snogging once again.

James leaned eagerly into the kiss, allowing his hands to wonder across her body. Stroking his hands up her back they somehow entangled themselves into her glorious hair and the situation was becoming very arousing. Her lips felt so velvety and appealing. He licked the seam of her mouth and she soon opened it a little allowing his tongue to mingle with her own. Lily's body shivered with ecstasy, she had never felt so eager for another and was keen to take the snogging further.

Rolling back, they had somehow managed to sprawl out on the sofa. James above Lily, his weight pushing down on her, encouraging her to go further. Tugging at her jumper, James fingered the hem of the garment before pulling it off in a swift movement over her head. Giggling into his kisses, Lily followed example and removed his jumper. Kisses intensifying and getting more desperate, she moved her attention to his shirt, which she began to unbutton.

"Bloody thing" she muttered under her breath and James sat up briefly to pull his shirt over his head. Lily once again copied his movement and both were now shirtless.

His hands moved up to her breasts and cupped them over her bra, squeezing at her erect nipple. Lost in the moment, he groaned at the erection pressing at his trousers and into her thigh.

Suddenly realising what they were doing Lily pulled her lips away from his; "Stop it James".

Confused the boy sat up, moving the pressure of his body from hers. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry James, we're moving to fast" and with that Lily wriggled from under his grasp, grabbed her shirt and ran into the Head girls chamber.

'Idiot' the teenage Gryffindor snapped at himself. Flopping back on the sofa he sighed in frustration, not at Lily, but at himself.

**Thats the end of chapter six my friends. What do people think of a bit of Lily/Snape action? Or not.. tell me in your reviews **


	7. Chapter 7

"Severus!" Lily jumped in shock.

"Sorry Lily" he apologised, stepping to one side to let her pass by.

"Why are you up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep, you?"

"Same" the red head sighed. She had waited until she was sure James had gone to his room and then snuck out. The shame of what had happened had overwhelmed her and she needed to clear her head.

"Fancy coming to the astronomy tower with me?" She enquired.

"Err, I suppose I could" Severus awkwardly replied, and together they climbed the stairs to the room at the top of the tower.

They entered the dark room and were happy to see it empty. It was renowned as a place where couples met for some private time. Lily settled herself on the floor and Snape did the same. They sat in silence for a while, content with each others company. Since the argument and detention things had settled between them, they had been friends for far too long too let one argument ruin it for them.

"Ive missed you" Lily stated. Severus reddened in the dimmed light.

"Seventh year is hard work" he answered.

"Yeah" The red head replied with an exhausted laugh. "Im so tired" she shuffled closer to Severus, closing the space between them, and rested her head on his shoulder. The Slytherins upper body stiffened at her touch. Lily ignored the reaction and continued to cuddle into his side.

She closed her eyelids and stayed clinging onto him until he relaxed, which he did eventually.

"Kiss me Severus" she whispered, her voice barely audible. Where the incentive had come from, or the courage, she didn't know, but the request felt suitable.

"What?" Was his gruff reply, the noise grunting from the back of his throat.

"Kiss me" Lily repeated a little louder. She rearranged their bodies so they faced each other, their lips dangerously close.

Severus leaned in, and Lily did the same, her hands moving to his face and cupping it. Their lips pushed together hard, his touch was different to James', Lily felt reckless kissing Severus. Licking his bottom lip expertly with her tongue, he opened his mouth slightly in shock, and Lily allowed her tongue to dance merrily with his. The kiss was passionate on her side, and awkward on his.

"I'm so sor…" Lily cut off the Slytherins words by placing her index finger over his lips.

"Shh" she sung softly, resting her head onto his shoulder she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Snape sat rigid contemplating what had just happened.

* * *

"Why were you late Lily Evans?" Alice demanded her hands on hips and her face stern.

"Overslept" Lily replied sheepishly. Last night had been the best yet the worst of her life and all she wanted to do was forget it and get on with Herbology. Alice was obviously talking to her again; the girl didn't bare grudges apparently.

"About the other night" Lily whispered, "Im sorry".

"Oh its fine sweetheart, I was due on, and my emotions were everywhere" Alice reached out for Lily's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Have you got a free period next?" She asked.

Lily nodded, and in silence they made an agreement to meet after Herbology.

* * *

James, Sirius and Remus sat huddled around the Marauders map, watching the dots move around.

"And you're sure you saw Lily with Snape?" Remus asked, his voice suggesting he had asked the question several times.

"Yes" a livid James sighed.

"Shit Prongs…" Sirius added.

"But James" Remus began, "they have always been acquaintances, perhaps they bumped into each other and just spoke…it happens".

James wearily rubbed his eyes, dark circles indicated that he hadn't slept much and the stressed look on his face reflected the way he felt.

"Prongs mate, just ask her where she was last night…see what she says" Sirius put a comforting hand on his friends shoulder.

"I love her Padfoot, I can't live without her" the Head boy rested his head in his hands and sighed melodramatically. He didn't care what his friends thought, he wasn't about to lose the girl he loved to a Slytherin.

* * *

A red head and brunette settled themselves by the foot of a tree, laughing and giggling with each other. The sight appalled Severus Snape, who'd been watching the crimson headed slut all morning. Why exactly had she kissed him? Was it to get some kind of power trip? Had she done it too annoy James? Perhaps she wanted to compare James' touch with his own to see which one tickled her fancy? Whatever the reason Snape knew she either had to be his, or he had to let her go forever. That red headed temptress was dangerous at seventeen, she was sure to be a vixen when she grew up. In anger he turned on his heel and marched back towards the dungeons, his secret work for the Dark Lord needed to be finished - only one person could save his self-destructing soul and she seemed determined on driving him down further into desperation.

* * *

"So yeah…me and James are an item" Lily grinned at her friend.

"Official?" Alice responded, her voice high-pitched and excitable.

"Only dogs could hear that Alice…" Lily smirked.

"Sorry, it's just, well its, its just brilliant Lily. He's liked you for so long, im sure it's going to last forever".

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" Lily giggled, "we've not even had a first date yet".

The conversation between Alice and herself had confirmed it - she was going to forget everything that had happened with Snape. During her morning lessons she had concluded that it was a pity kiss, nothing more. She loved the Slytherin as a friend, that was all, and it wasn't the way she loved Alice and Natalie, it was a sympathetic emotion. His touch had felt good, but not secure and loving as James' did, and for that reason she couldn't even contemplate anything else happening. James was her all from now on, and Severus Snape was a stranger.

"Lily?" Alice asked for the seventh time.

"Sorry, I was miles away" The green-eyed beauty smiled to her friend.

"Sounds nice, take me next time?" The brunette joked. "Anyway, what I was saying" Alice continued, "im really sorry but I've got to go meet Frank."

"Oh okay" Lily pouted a little, she hadn't seen her friend for a while, and the best she got out of her was twenty minutes alone.

"I'll walk you back to your common room if you want?" Alice offered.

"Nah, I think I'll stay out here for a while. I feel like I've been deprived of fresh air recently" Lily responded, leaning against the tree, and stretching her legs before her. It was the first time in a while she'd been able to appreciate the beauty of nature on her own, and she intended to make the most of it.

"See you later then" Alice departed, tottering off towards the castle.

Lily sat alone thinking again; surely it was unnatural to dwell on ones thoughts too much. Just as the horror of her actions sunk her heart, James appeared and her ship was brought floating back to the surface once again.

"Can I join you" he asked, settling himself on the floor beside her. His voice wasn't as cheerful as she had hoped it might have been. Instantly she thought he was going to break things off with her, call her a slut and deny any love for her. She couldn't blame him after what had happened the night before, most blokes would call her a tease and declare her a waste of time, she hoped James respected her a little more.

"Where were you last night?" He pursued.

"In my room…" She began, but the look on his face told her he knew different. "…and then I went for a walk…" He stared at her silently, his face a stone block, she decided to give him the true story, with certain bits avoided obviously; "I bumped into Snape, and we decided to go to the astronomy tower, where we spoke for a while, he left, and I must have fallen asleep".

James' smile was weak, but it was loving, and as it fell upon his face, Lily's stomach somersaulted a thousand and one times. She didn't know why she had to gain his approval so must, no other man would turn her into a gibbering wreck. James didn't say anymore on the subject, although in his heart he knew she wasn't telling him the whole story, he decided not to persist. He shuffled closer to the red head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Embracing his touch, Lily rested her head on him and closed her eyes. Yes, his touch was defiantly better than Snape's, in his arms she was protected.

* * *

James and Lily had spent their afternoon together, and only decided to go back indoors when their stomachs begun to grumble - making loud demands. Hand in hand they waltzed back into the castle and to the kitchens, they had missed lunch, but it was still a few hours to dinner and both wanted desperatley.

"Tickle the pear then" James smirked, and Lily did so, not letting him know she'd known the secret since her second year. James was the type who liked to think he knew everything. Lily squealed in fake delight when the portrait swung open and stepped inside. It was the house-elves greeting that broke her façade;

"Miss Evans" a small female elf bowed at her feet, delighted by her presence. "The usual pumpkin pasty?"  
Lily embarrassedly nodded, "please" she responded, her face brandishing a shade of raspberry.

"You already knew about the kitchens?" James pondered, his hand immediatly going to his hair and ruffling it.

"Dumbledore told me about them in my second year" Lily proudly stated, taking a seat at the wooden bench in the centre of the room. James mimicked her action and together they sat munching pastries until they were stuffed and satisfied.

"Still up for Hogsmeade Saturday?" He asked.

**Wooosh, late update I know! Suddenly ive found myself with a new boyfriend and time is limited. Thank you to those who have reviewed, I wont lie, I'd like a few more, but I do read the other fanfics and some are in a league of their own - my little dribble can't compete!! Oh well, I shall continue, hope you like the way the stories going. Review and let me know! :)**

**I also apologise for the length of this chapter. The next one will be nice and juicy I promise, and I shall update tommorow!**


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